Insurgency / Northeast

GUWAHATI, Jan 8 — In view of the ‘close links’ between the banned ULFA and Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) based in North Bengal areas, Assam Police is in touch with West Bengal Police to hammer out a joint strategy to contain KLO activities. The Director General of Assam Police, Sri H N Deka, today told The Assam Tribune that a meeting between the State Police and its West Bengal counterpart would soon take place to discuss strategy to check the growing activities of the KLO. Sri Deka said, ‘a joint strategy between Assam Police and West Bengal Police is the need of the hour as the...

AGARTALA, Jan 5— One hardcore ULFA militant John Barua of Guwahati surrendered to the 13 BN Border Security Force in West Tripura on Tuesday, after crossing over to Sidhai, near Agartala from Bangladesh. BSF and other intelligence services interrogated him for the last two days and according to sources, the trained militant who fled from the joint camp of All Tripura Tiger Force and ULFA at Satcherri, Bangladesh, revealed highly sensitive information. He became disillusioned and left the camp, said officer in charge of Sidhai Police Station Samarendra Deb. Sources said, “ULFA and its allies...

NEW DELHI, Jan 3 — The Royal Government of Bhutan has formally confirmed dismantling of four camps including a military training camp by the ULFA in the country in response to the deadline set by the Government there. A spokesman of the Royal Bhutanese Embassy told The Assam Tribune here today that official of the Royal Government have physically verified the spot where the camps were located and found that sheds have been demolished and camps dismantled by the ULFA. The abandoned camp included one military training camp near Samdrup Jongkhar. According to the spokesman, the ULFA first...

GUWAHATI, Jan 2 — Despite expiry of the deadline on Monday night set by Bhutan Government for militant outfits ULFA and NDFB to close their camps on its soil, the banned outfits defied the diktat and only relocated a few camps, reports PTI. Official sources here said the extremists did not vacate any of their camps set up on the Bhutan hills along Assam, but had only relocated four United Liberation Front of Asom camps within that country’s territory. The sources attributed the failure of the insurgents to dismantle their camps in deference to King Jigme Singme Wanchuk’s orders to the mountain...

NEW DELHI, April 26: Unabated violence in the Northeast took a heavy toll on civilians leaving over 900 persons dead last year, the Union Home Secretary, Kamal Pande reported. The intensity of violence continued to be high in the Northeast, and a total of 1960 incidents of violence were recorded leading to 1657 deaths including 165 security personnel and 585 militants. Significantly, the home secretary held the ULFA, instead of the Assam Tiger Force (ATF) responsible for the attacks on Hindi-speaking Assamese and the non-Assamese people that led to the killing of 89 persons in 12 such attacks...

NEW DELHI, April 24: In a development that may raise the hackles of the human rights bodies, the Minister of Home Affairs (MHA) has identified the Assam based Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS) as among six Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) having links with the militant outfits. The fall out of the move is that all the state governments in the Northeastern Region have been alerted not to release any government funds to any NGO in the region without proper verification. It has been decided that the Union government would release funds to NGOs in the region only after physical verifications...

NEW DELHI, April 15: Even as growing activities of Pakistan's ISI from Nepalese soil are causing security concern for India, the Himalayan Kingdom has emerged as a safe haven for the militant groups from the Northeast, reports PTI. Blessed with logistic support from Pakistan's ISI, the NSCN(IM) leaders Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah had been regular visitors to Kathmandu since 1992 and pursuing their activities, Intelligence sources said here. The sources said this potent Naga group had been sending its recruits for training at an institute, near Lalitpur. The NSCN(IM) is also reported...

AIZAWL, April 13: Central power corporations like the NEEPCO, NHPC and Power Grid Corporation, which have been undertaking high prices power projects, have become soft targets of the insurgent groups in the Northeast region, a top police official said here on Thursday, reports PTI. Citing the example of abduction of Power Grid Corporation officials by Manipur's Hmar People's Convention-Democrats (HPC-D) on Wednesday in Mizoram-Manipur border area, the police official, on condition of anonymity, said the rebel groups were indulging in extortion and found the Central power corporations as soft...

IMPHAL, April 4: Several political leaders in Manipur have expressed reservations against Union home minister L.K. Advani's objection to the extension of the unilateral ceasefire with the insurgent groups for another month. The state government had declared an unilateral ceasefire with all rebel outfits for a month in March. The Cabinet subsequently decided to extend the ceasefire for another month as per the recommendation of an all-party meet. But the Union home ministry's objection has now led to the resumption of military operations both by the Army and Assam Rifles. However, the Cabinet...

KOLKATA, March 29: Indian anti-insurgency forces eliminated two key financiers of the United Liberation Force of Asom and seriously injured another person handling ULFA funds in Bangladesh in three different encounters in the capital city of Dhaka in last Friday. Four gunmen shot Mohammed Reza Jahangir, a businessman dealing in prawn and shrimps and a close-aide of ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, in the posh Shyamali Ring Road area in Dhaka at around 3.30 pm on Friday afternoon. Later in the day, another of Baruah's financier's and owner of a garment factory, Saleem, suffered 60 per...